A computer network, such as a global computer network like the Internet, may contain a vast collection of information. Individuals, companies, and institutions generate and maintain this information for a variety of uses and purposes. Traditional techniques to access this information may include a browser suitable for accessing information on the World Wide Web (WWW), a file transfer protocol (FTP), Gopher, TelNet, UseNet, or Archie utility, electronic mail, bulletin boards, newsgroups, or any other protocol or technique.
The information "posted" or otherwise made available on the Internet may vary greatly in content. Much of this information may be business or technical in nature. However, due to the diversity and number of persons using the Internet and their freedom and willingness to express, much of the material available on the Internet may be inappropriate for particular age groups. For example, information containing explicit language, sexual subject matter, violent depictions, or other adult material may be widely available on a global computer network like the Internet.
Therefore, some efforts attempt to rate information to provide age-appropriate access to the Internet. For example, one technique codes the information with a caution level indicating how likely the material will be considered objectionable. This particular technique requires the content developer to embed a content rating code into the information. To date, only a fraction of the information available on the Internet includes any form of standardized or recognizable content rating code. Moreover, existing rating approaches are inflexible and not adapted to the various technologies used to retrieve information from the Internet.